1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an information distribution apparatus accessible by a data requestor from any of a plurality of remote locations over a data transmission medium such as a conventional telephone line to access selected data stored at the information distribution apparatus and to distribute the accessed data along the same medium to the data requestor. In particular, this invention relates to the distribution of image data or documents by typical facsimile apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Much effort has gone into improving the efficiency of image data transmission, and in particular document transmission, to the data requestor. In the simplest terms, distribution of a document or, more particularly, the image borne thereby, may be broken down into a series of discrete steps. Irrespective of the data transmission medium, the requestor first formulates a data request message identifying him- or herself and the document requested. Next, that request message is sent to a depository of available documents, which, for example, could be a library or a large data base. Whether done by the use of computers or manually, the data request message is analyzed to identify the requested document, and the document is accessed and put into a form suitable for transmission back to the data requestor. In order to transmit the return message, it is necessary to identify the data requestor and where the data requestor is located and, thereafter, to transmit through the available medium the return message bearing the requested image data to the data requestor. At a relatively simple level of technology, the data requestor could either place the data request message in the form of a telephone call or a letter to the document depository, which would respond to the data request message by accessing the requested image data and transmitting the return message bearing the requested image either by telephone or by letter. Even if express mail service were used, the response time would amount to days.
As the sophistication of the technology applied increases and, in particular, as computers are applied to the problems of image distribution, the time and ease of response respectively decreases and increases. For example, facsimile apparatus may be used to transmit image data from one location to another, anywhere in the world. However, even facsimile apparatus of the prior art may be improved as to time and ease of response. The data requestor may use presently available facsimile apparatus to transmit the data request message to the document depository. That data request message must of course identify the requested information, the name and facsimile telephone number of the data requestor, and possible additional routing information. The data request message is printed out. A clerk at the document depository evaluates the request message and accesses the requested image data in files, books, or other sources of image data.
The document depository can be automated to the extent that a large volume or library of documents is stored in an addressable hard disk memory, which may be accessed or addressed by computer. The addressed document may then be printed out, taken to the facsimile apparatus, the telephone number of the data requestor entered, and a return message containing the requested image data transmitted to the data requestor. Even after the transmission of the return message has been initiated, it is necessary to monitor the complete transmission to ensure that the entire document has in fact bee transmitted. Transmission of the return message may fail for any number of reasons. The facsimile apparatus of the data requestor may be busy at the time the return message is transmitted. Even if the return message is accepted by the data requestor's facsimile apparatus, the paper may jam, the paper supply become exhausted, or there may be a disruption in the transmission medium. Since the transmission of the return message must be monitored, the image data is available to the data requestor only during normal working hours. In addition, human error, such as the request message bearing an incorrect telephone number of the requestor, must be dealt with.
Another problem arising in the distribution of documents or image data is the frequency with which image data must be updated. The problem is particularly acute when the image data is put onto hard copy, as by printing. In a large document distribution system, printed documents are distributed at various wholesaling and retailing levels. If those documents are out of date, large quantities of documents at a variety of locations have to be destroyed at considerable, loss and new image data has to be reprinted and shipped throughout the distribution network. Because of the expense and time lag in printing, information reaching the data requestor is often out of date.
The prior art has also recognized the problem of audibly communicating over transmission media such as telephone lines, finding the designated recipient absent, and being unable to complete the message. U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,700 of Matthews et al. discloses a telecommunication system including a voice message system interconnecting a plurality of private exchanges via conventional telephone lines. A user at any of the plurality of private exchanges can transmit an audible message as well as a facsimile message over the telephone lines to the voice message system, whereat it is stored within the system's storage system. The transmitted facsimile message includes route identification information and information identifying a potential recipient. In order for the potential recipient to obtain that information, he/she must send a data request message over the telephone lines to the voice message system and, if there is a match between the designated and requesting recipient, the audible message and the facsimile message are sent to the requestor. The Matthews et al. system, however, is unconcerned with the problem of distributing designated documents of a library, much less teaching any manner of accessing or addressing that data in accordance with a data request message or delivering the requested data efficiently to the data requestor.